TITLE: World Come Undone
AUTHOR: Joanne
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never will be.
DISTROBUTION: Want. Take. Have. Just leave me the URL.
SPOILERS: RotS.
RATING: PG for now.
SUMMARY: Unexpected things happen when Obi-Wan takes
Luke to Tatooine.
A/N: So I was watching A New Hope last week and a
sudden idea struck me not too far into the movie.
Several did, actually. One of the several you'll find
in this part, the others will come later. Provided you
guys think it's worthwhile for me to continue this
fic.

Prologue

Luke was still too new to life to resemble either of
his parents. Swaddled, Obi-Wan hadn’t even been able
to tell Luke from Leia. Both had blonde hair, blue
eyes, and the squished features typical of all
newborns. But even had he not been present for his
birth, Obi-Wan would have instinctively known that the
infant was Anakin Skywalker’s son. The Force around
the small boy spoke of his kinship with the fallen
Jedi knight. And though the child was barely three
days old, Obi-Wan could sense the greatness in him.
Given his parentage it would be impossible for Luke
not to excel at all things. Obi-Wan only hoped that
Luke was allowed the carefree childhood Anakin and
Padmé had been denied.

“Never doubt that your parents loved you,” Obi-Wan
murmured into the downy soft hair atop Luke’s head.
“You would be with them and your sister now had things
not gone so horribly wrong.”

The only response he received from Luke was a wide
yawn and some wiggling of his nose. Obi-Wan had seen
Anakin’s nose twitch in the exact same way countless
times while he slept. Anakin was the most active
sleeper Obi-Wan had never known and it had always been
a constant source of amusement for him. Replicated in
his son, though, it brought tears to his eyes.

“That’s a beautiful son you have,” a female passenger
said as she sat down in the vacant seat next to him.
“How old is he? If you don’t mind my asking, of
course.”

The woman apologized profusely, her cheeks flushed in
embarrassment. She offered up a final, “He looks like
you,” before falling silent. She looked away before
she had a chance to notice Obi-Wan’s body stiffening
at her words. That was the same thing Sidious had used
to turn Anakin against him. It was utterly
inconceivable that he would have any type of sexual
relationship with Padmé. Obi-Wan had never felt any
hint of desire for her. She was a dear friend and
nothing more.

Before he had parted company with Master Yoda and
Senator Organa, Obi-Wan had taken it upon himself to
alter his appearance in what ways he could. In the
short amount of time that had been available all that
he’d been able to do was exchange his Jedi robes for
civilian garb, have his hair trimmed so that it stood
up in soft spikes and, most noticeably of all, shave
off his trademark beard. Anakin had always hated the
beard, claiming that it made him look old. Without it,
Obi-Wan felt naked. He had originally grown it in an
attempt to appear older when he had first been
knighted. He’d been far younger than any other knight
with a padawan and given the notoriety of his
apprentice it had seemed a prudent thing to do. That
had been thirteen years before.

Years that Obi-Wan would have given anything to get
back.

More than that he wished that he would have paid
better attention and seen Anakin slipping closer to
the dark side before it was too late. Obi-Wan wasn’t
sure if there was anything he could have done to
prevent Anakin from being transformed into Darth
Vader, but at least he would have made more of an
effort. He might have been able to save Padmé. Through
Padmé he might have been able to lead Anakin back to
the light. Anakin had loved her desperately; enough to
betray the Jedi Code.

Yet Obi-Wan knew that it wasn’t Anakin breaking the
Code that had allowed him to slip to the dark side. It
was Obi-Wan’s own failings. He had allowed the Council
to dictate things and ultimately hadn’t been there
when Anakin had truly needed him. Obi-Wan couldn’t
guarantee that he would have been able to keep Anakin
from falling prey to Sidious’ manipulations, but he
could have helped to prevent it. If he had it to do
over he would have taken Anakin to Utapau with him.
They would have defeated Grievous together and, most
importantly, Anakin would have been kept away from
Sidious.

It hadn’t occurred that way, though, and Obi-Wan had
to live with the knowledge that he’d left his best
friend burning on the side of a lava flow. In all
honestly he had never meant to harm Anakin. Despite
Master Yoda’s orders, Obi-Wan had only intended to
talk to Anakin—to try and reason with him. Until
Anakin had tried to kill Padmé Obi-wan had never
thought any reality existed in which he and the
younger man would be enemies. Anakin was his best
friend and a man he gladly would have given his life
to protect. And the same man who had tried to kill him
on Mustafar. Not merely tried, but had put a serious
effort into the task.

Obi-Wan grieved for what had become of the cheerful
boy Qui-Gon had found on Tatooine. Never in his
wildest dreams had Obi-Wan even fathomed that such a
thing was possible. It wasn’t even something he had
considered because there had always been something so
innately good about Anakin. Underneath all of the
emotions that swirled around inside of him that
goodness had always remained. Be it in a laugh or a
smile, Obi-Wan had always known that Anakin was a good
man.

He only wished that he could share Padmé’s belief that
Anakin wasn’t completely lost to the dark side.
Several days later he could still hear Anakin’s voice
in his head, screaming accusations at him on that
fiery planet.

“I HATE YOU!”

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut tight. There had been
so much venom in Anakin’s voice as he’d shouted up the
hillside at him. Even then it had taken everything in
him to turn away from the man who had been his friend
for the past thirteen years. He was certain that
Anakin’s screams on that pumice shore would haunt him
until the end of his days. It was a fate he deserved
for failing Anakin so completely. He should have seen
the burden that Anakin was carrying and found some way
to help him. If he had seen what was going on sooner
he could have done something before events had
spiraled so out of control.

In his arms, Luke began to squirm about irritably.
Obi-Wan had never spent any significant time in the
company of an infant and had very little idea how to
care for one. Young Luke shifted about again, his
small mouth stretched open in a wide yawn. Obi-Wan
couldn’t stop his grin at the sight of it. His smile
only grew when Luke drifted back off to sleep a moment
later. It was a much more solemn smile as he was once
again reminded of the boy’s father. Anakin would have
taken such joy in his son.

“I’m sorry that you’ll never get the chance to know
your father,” Obi-Wan whispered as he adjusted his
hold on the small boy. “One day I will ask your
forgiveness for my role in his fate.”

Obi-Wan stared down at Luke as he slept, totally
unaware of the current chaos that the galaxy was mired
in. And the chaos that continued to grow.

Darth Vader was still alive.

Against all probability and reason he had survived the
lava on Mustafar. It hadn’t been reported on the
HoloNet yet, but Obi-Wan knew that he was alive. There
was still enough of a remnant of their former training
bond for him to be able to sense that Anakin still
lived. It wasn’t strong enough for him to gain any
sense of where Anakin was, but there could be no doubt
that he still lived.

Regardless of the fact that Vader still lived, Obi-wan
wouldn’t change how he had ended things on Mustafar
save that the battle had never occurred. Orders or
not, he could never be the one to kill Anakin. Anakin
Skywalker should not be punished for the crimes
committed by Darth Vader. It was a tragic series of
circumstances that had led to Vader’s rise to power,
but it was not a reason to kill Anakin. For Padmé’s
sake, as well as that of Luke and Leia, Obi-wan meant
to do whatever he could to bring Anakin back from the
darkness that engulfed him.

Provided there was anything left to save.

That venture would come later, though. At the moment
it was his duty to see Luke safely delivered to
Anakin’s kin on Tatooine. Obi-wan had never met
Anakin’s step-brother, but he understood the logic of
leaving the infant in Owen Lars’ care. Even if the
Emperor suspected that Anakin’s children had lived,
sending one of them to Tatooine was far too obvious a
choice for him to suspect. He could only hope that
Leia would be equally safe on Alderaan.

The next time that Luke began to fidget, he awoke with
a slightly uncomfortable whimper. Soothing hums
through the Force kept the sounds from becoming all
out sobs, and Obi-Wan rose from his seat in order to
find a place to change the infant’s diaper.

“I’m a Jedi Master and General of the Republican
Army,” Obi-Wan grumbled to himself as he began
unfastening the soiled cloth. “You’ll have to forgive
me if I do this incorrectly, Luke. My paternal skills
are somewhat lacking. Fortunately you’ll just have to
bear with me a short while longer.”

Strangely enough that statement filled him with
sorrow. Luke was the only physical proof he had that a
man named Anakin Skywalker had ever existed. True, he
was in possession of Anakin’s lightsaber, but in the
end the lightsaber could be lost or broken. It existed
only as a relic of a now defunct way of life. Luke,
however, was a part of Anakin. Beyond a few shared
traits and frighteningly similar eyes he was Anakin’s
son. For that reason alone Obi-Wan would give his life
to keep Luke safe from any threats, including those
from his own father.

Just as Obi-Wan was returning to his seat an
announcement came over the speakers that they would be
landing on Tatooine soon and that all passengers bound
there should prepare to disembark. Those people
wandering about all lumbered back to their seats
before the passenger ship began its final descent.
Obi-wan strapped himself into his seat, securing Luke
in the sling draped across his chest. Luke let out a
series of contented noises as he settled down to sleep
once again. Obi-Wan had to laugh at that, remembering
the healer informing him that, as a newborn, Luke
would spend most of his time asleep. It certainly made
traveling easier.

There was enough of a crowd in the spaceport that
Obi-wan could hide easily enough. Tatooine was just as
he’d remembered it. Hot, dry, and entirely too sandy.
It wasn’t a place he would have chosen to make his
home, but if he was to keep Luke safe from the Empire
he would have to stick close to the boy. He would also
need to keep an eye on Luke to see if he developed the
Force sensitivities of his father. One of the faults
in Anakin’s training was that it had begun too late.
If Luke showed the potential, Obi-Wan intended to
begin his training early and so carry on the Jedi
traditions.

Obi-Wan bought some supplies and an eopie to transport
them before beginning the trek to the Lars’ moisture
farm. Being one of the few known surviving Jedi, he
wanted to keep as low a profile as possible for the
next little while. Once Sidious turned his attentions
elsewhere he could resurface, but not as Obi-Wan
Kenobi. Never again would he be able to answer to that
name. He was now Ben Kenobi. Close to his original
name, correct, but altered enough for it to not be
obvious.

“Your father was the best man that I know,” Obi-Wan
said quietly as he steered the eopie away from Mos
Eisley and out into the surrounding desert.

With nothing else to do over their long journey, he
began to tell Luke about Anakin. After all the years
they’d known each other Obi-wan had amassed a great
deal of stories about the younger man. Tales that not
even the HoloNet knew about because they had taken
place in private. Anakin’s first swimming lessons;
their trip to Illum to retrieve the crystals for
Anakin’s first lightsaber; Anakin grumbling about
having to wear formal attire at diplomatic meetings.
So many things both big and small that had been
Obi-Wan’s life for thirteen wonderful years.

As he told these stories and others to Luke it seemed
to Obi-Wan as though he was speaking of someone else’s
life. Even events that had occurred only a few months
before no longer felt like things that had happened to
him. In the past week his life had been turned so
completely on its head that Obi-Wan no longer
recognized it or himself.

The closer he got to the moisture farm, the more
uneasy Obi-Wan began to feel. Something was wrong.
Just what that was he couldn’t determine and he hugged
Luke to him more securely. Then he saw it. As he
cleared the rise that overlooked the flatlands
surrounding the farm, Obi-Wan caught sight of a fading
plume of smoke rising up in the distance. Fishing a
pair of binoculars out of one of his packs, he scanned
the area.

There was no mistaking what he saw.

Not far from the aboveground entrance of the homestead
were two badly charred corpses. Reaching out through
the Force, Obi-Wan could find no sense of life in
them. There was no mistaking their identities. Most
likely because of their relationship to Anakin, Owen
and Beru Lars had been killed. Obi-Wan suddenly feared
for Padmé’s surviving family. He wouldn’t put it past
Sidious to remove any trace of Anakin Skywalker’s life
from the galaxy. Returning the binoculars to his pack,
Obi-Wan turned the beast back towards Mos Eisley.

Safeguarding Luke had now become Obi-Wan’s only
concern. Sidious could not be allowed to harm the
infant. Leia would be safe enough where she was under
Senator Organa’s protection, but at the moment he and
Luke were on their own. Staring down at Luke’s
sleeping face, Obi-Wan hoped that he would be able to
keep the little boy safe.